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Lethal pesticides banned, after millions of honeybee deaths?

The life cycle of a honey bee is presented as an example of complete metamorphosis, the development of an insect from egg to larva, then pupa, then adult. Moths, butterflies and wasps also develop with complete metamorphosis. Some aspects of beekeeping are also discussed.

The Government is to reconsider its refusal to ban neonicotinoid pesticides, the nerve-agent chemicals blamed for the collapse of bee colonies worldwide, the chief scientist at the Department of the Environment, Sir Robert Watson, told The Independent.

Sir Robert, a former head of the UN climate panel, moved quickly to begin a comprehensive re-evaluation of the Government’s stance after two new scientific studies, from Britain and France, strongly linked neonicotinoid use to bee declines.

He said the new studies, and others, would be closely analysed.

The Government has refused previous requests to consider a precautionary suspension of the chemicals, which have been banned in France and Italy, despite mounting evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinating insects, even in minute doses.

Bees‘ role in pollinating crops is worth billions of pounds annually to global agriculture.

Even on Thursday, after the new studies were published, a spokesman for Defra said the new research did not change the Government’s position, and that “the evidence shows that neonicotinoids do not pose an unacceptable risk to honey bees”.

But yesterday Sir Robert said: “The real Defra position is the following: we will absolutely look at the University of Stirling work, the French work, and the American work that came out a couple of months ago [a study by the US government’s leading bee researcher, Dr Jeffrey Pettis, which showed that exposure to microscopic doses of neonicotinoids weakened bees’ resistance to disease]. We must look at this in real detail to see whether or not the current British position is correct or is incorrect.

He added: “I want to get a really careful analysis of all three papers, and I’ve asked for a briefing on some ongoing work that we’ve been doing ourselves. I want this all reassessed, very, very carefully.”

Bees: The Threatened Link in Food Security. Esther Manilla, National Radio Project: “Honey bees help pollinate 1 in every 3 bites that we eat … They are vital in our agricultural industry and essential for the survival of the almost 7 billion people who inhabit this planet. And, as the world’s population continues to grow, so does our reliance on honey bees. Unfortunately, most pollinating insects throughout the world are endangered today, including the honey bee”: here.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2012) — The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH): here.

Bug becomes instantly resistant to insecticide by swallowing the right bacteria: here.

Monsanto Is Bad for the Bees and Bad for Us. Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: “Rather than risk restrictions on GMO crops and mega-toxic pesticides such as Monsanto’s Roundup, Monsanto purchased the company looking into saving bee colonies … In short, a company that was independently looking at the collapse of bee colonies and believed that pesticides and GMO development may be contributory factors is now owned by the primary multinational company that creates those products likely contributing to the bee die-off”: here.

Britain: September 2012. Yesterday the Environment Audit Committee launched a new inquiry into the impact of insecticides on insects: here.